William K. Heiser Sr. – National Roadeo Champion

This week’s 52 Ancestors prompt is Transportation. My entry this week is an updated version of a blog post I wrote in 2015 about William Kenneth HEISER Sr., my first cousin, once removed.

Ordinary Beginning

William was born 19 Feb 1916 in Frederick County, Maryland. He was the oldest of the three children born to Joseph Henry HEISER Jr. and Mary Virginia DRONENBURG HEISER. William had a typical upbringing. He learned to play the piano, and at times he accompanied his sister when she sang at women’s meetings and such in their home county of Frederick County, Maryland. William graduated high school, and he was a pallbearer at his grandmother’s funeral.

Early Adulthood

After high school William worked as a laborer at a
distillery near Baltimore, Maryland. In 1935 and in April 1940, William was
living in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland according to the U.S. Census.

On the 1940 census, 24-year old William is married to Gladys Larue “Larue” NAUMAN HEISER. Their son, William, Jr. in listed on the census. Daughter Judith was born after 1940, so she is not listed on this census.

But in October of 1950, William was living in Woodlawn,
Baltimore County, Maryland according to his World War II draft registration. He
worked for Frankfort Distillery in Dundalk, Maryland. William was 5’11” tall
and weight 145 lbs. He had grey eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. I hadn’t
seen his World War II draft registration before today.

Not So Ordinary Anymore

Life became less ordinary for William starting in 1949, six
years after he got a job driving a truck for Davidson Transfer and Storage Co.
of Baltimore. William was 33 in 1949.

William K. Heiser in his Davidson uniform

William was an awesome truck driver. So awesome that he won
first in his class in the Highway Safety Week truck driving competition several
times and went on to compete in the National Roadeo Finals in New York several
times as well.

A newspaper article in 1956 said 40-year old William had
entered the Roadeo competition for nine years, winning the State title eight
times and placing second and third in the national competitions. William drove
a single-axle semi-trailer.

These competitions were about more than driving. ‘The driver
had to take a written examination on rules of the road, first aid, and the
trucking industry.’

William also had to ‘pass a skill test which included
parking the vehicle with only four feet to spare, backing to a loading dock
with six inches to spare, weaving a 39-foot truck through a serpentine course
with barrels placed 20 feet apart, and driving through parallel rows of golf
balls on tees.’

William K. Heiser receives Driver of the Year award

Driver of the Year

In 1954, William was presented with the Driver Of The Year award by the Maryland Truck Association.

They based their decision on William having won the state
and national championships several times, his 9 ½ years of driving without a
chargeable accident, his frequent radio and television appearances on behalf of
the trucking industry; and a series of safety talks delivered to Boy Scout
troops and similar groups, on a voluntary basis.

The Rest of the Story As I Know It

William and Larue divorced, and William married a second time to Ethel Laura GREEN BILLINGS around 1960. I’ve only found a few documents about William after 1960 – his listing on the Social Security Death Index and his obituary in the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

William died 27 October 1988, and he is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Maryland with his wife, Ethel, who died on 1992.